The Rise Of Rose
by CobaltLightning13
Summary: After being left to die by the same people she worked for, Neo is coming back for vengeance. But she won't be able to do it without the help of Team RWBY, to whom she owes her life. Rated M for violence.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hello, and thank you for giving my story a chance! School is currently out in Australia, so I'm trying to upload every two days at 6PM AEST. I hope you enjoy my story!  
-CobaltLightning**

* * *

The woods were silent. Not even a bird, calling out to its chicks could be heard. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground, among with many fallen trees that couldn't stand the weight on the snow. Each of the trees in the mountain range was without leaves at this time of year but instead were tainted a bright white from the endless amount of snow gently drifting down from the sky, which gave them the nickname 'ghost trees'. The branches on the trees faced upwards, and in their bare state, created the illusion that they were angrily demanding something from the gods. These trees overpopulated the valley, making it very hard to see a few metres in front of you.

It truly was a desolate place, with barely any animals visiting this area. Stuck in a huge valley between two mountainous ridges, it was almost impossible to get down. Almost. A small woman, dressed in a white hood and cloak, was dashing in between the godforsaken trees, dodging the snow that fell from the tips of the trees. She was clearly looking for something, and the ears on top of her head kept straining and moving as she tried to hear something. Then she heard it.

Screaming. High pitched, ear shattering screaming that completely destroyed the serenity and silence of the night. She quickened her pace and felt the beginnings of a furious growl in her chest. The screaming continued, getting louder and louder as she got ever closer to the source. She leapt over fallen trees and tried not to slip as she crossed a frozen lake. The screaming was nearby, but it echoed throughout the winter wonderland she was currently in. She stopped moving as she heard something that made her blood stop.

"MUUUUUUUUUUM!" Came the long, drawn out, torturous scream. Her lips pulled back into a wicked snarl, she sprinted faster than she had ever moved before, getting ever closer to the screams. Crossing the lake, she saw a large log cabin amidst a dense area of trees. She was exhausted, and her head was throbbing painfully from the blow to her face from her daughter's captors. But nothing would stop her, nothing will stop her from getting her daughter.

"MUUUUM, PLEASE!" The scream pierced the night, shattering all rational thoughts from her head. She dashed to the cabin and smashed the door down.

"RUBY! WHERE ARE YOU!" She screamed.

"MUM! HELP ME!" Ruby's voice appeared to come from beneath her. Locating a staircase downwards, she jumped down. The staircase was massive, going down at least 20 meters. She turned a corner, and her body clenched up in anger. Her daughter was sobbing and screaming uncontrollably, in the middle of the room. She was strapped to a table, and four men surrounded her. They were huge, giants seemingly made only of muscle. They all appeared to hold a form of dust in their hands, and the dust was almost guiding itself to Ruby.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing to my baby!" She screamed loudly. All four men turned around.

"Well well well, looks like mother wolf has come to save her pup." The man closest to her said as he laughed. "Too bad she's too late."

"What are you talking about!?" She exclaimed. The man simply laughed.

"The process is done! Unfortunately for you, this is the last time you'll see your daughter." Her eyes flashed with anger. She growled menacingly, and her ears and tail became fully erect. The man's eyes widened, as panic briefly flashed through his eyes. But it was only for a second, as he lunged at her. She quickly sidestepped the man and brought her fist down on his temple with strength deceiving for her size. The man folded like a sack of potatoes, and the light in his eyes faded. She glared menacingly at the other men.

Without a second thought, she threw herself at the closest man, swinging her right fist at him. He ducked, but he didn't see her knee as it slammed into his nose, destroying it. Blood was streaming down his face, and his nose was flattened. But he wasn't done.

He reached out and grabbed her ankle. He pulled her to the floor and pulled out a sword. He thrust at her, but she quickly leapt out of the way and landed on her feet. She retreated a few paces, only to see the two other men pulling out swords, and approaching her menacingly.

She pulled out her own weapons, which were twin katanas. They were a brilliant white but seemed to almost glow red. She swung one, and embers flew off the edges of the sword. The men both lunged at her, one swinging high and the other swinging at her legs. She leapt into the air, blocking the sword aimed at her throat.

She half flipped in mid-air, and as she flew over the man's head, she swung both swords into his chest. They pierced his lungs, and thanks to the fire dust embedded in the katanas, burned him. His blood superheated and boiled as he shouted in agony, screaming for mercy.

She pulled her katanas out of the dying man's chest and flipped out of the way of the other man's sword. He swung again, this time clipping her cloak. The man stepped forward and aimed a blow at her midsection. She readied her katanas, preparing for the blow to come. But as he brought the sword down, he quickly spun and changed the trajectory of his strike.

She brought both her swords forward, desperate to defend herself. A loud clang reverberated throughout the small area they were in as their weapons bounced off each other. She stumbled backwards at the strength of his blow, and he kept pressing the advantage.

Seeing that she was off balance, he wound his arm back, preparing to deliver his strongest hit. She realised that his entire left side was unprotected, so she darted forward, keeping herself close to the ground. She dragged her katanas on the ground, allowing them to spark as she lifted them up, and thrust them into his side.

She jumped up, pulling out one of the katanas as he aimlessly flailed his sword around, desperately trying to kill her. Suspended in midair, she delivered a vertical strike to the man's throat and watched him gargle as his throat filled up with blood.

"You're not too bad, you know that?" The man with the broken nose called out. She glanced around and caught sight of him. He was standing next to Ruby, his sword against her throat. She felt her pulse quicken. Ruby was sweating profusely, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"Let her go!" She shouted desperately.

"Now now now, where's the fun in that!" He said as he laughed. "How about you put your weapon down, and we can discuss things like rational adults?" She looked at her feet and dropped the katanas.

"What do you want?" She asked quietly, venom lacing her voice.

"I simply want to leave here with my life."

"Then give me my daughter, and I'll leave you alone."

"See, I don't think it's gonna work like that. My boss has put way too much time and money into this girl to simply let her walk away."

"What have you done to her? What interested could you possibly have in a ten-year-old girl?" She growled.

"We have merely improved her." He shrugged. "Now, you're gonna leave, and never come back. In return, your precious daughter won't be slaughtered." Her whole body tensed, shaking in anger. She looked at Ruby. Ruby nodded at her. She bent over to pick up her katanas.

"What do you think you're doing?" The man cried out.

"Leaving." She said. But at that moment, a flurry of roses petals erupted from where Ruby stood. With Ruby out of the way, she sprinted forward and buried her weapons into the man's eyes. He screamed, but it was quickly cut off as the blades penetrated his brain. She pulled her katanas out as he slumped to the ground.

"Mum!" Ruby cried, as she leapt into her mother's embrace.

"There there." She said back, as she wrapped her tail around Ruby. "Let's get out of here Ruby." They stood up, and Ruby clenched her mother's hand. Snow was drifting down from the sky as they walked out.

"Mum, I'm too tired," Ruby said quietly as if simply talking was too much for her. Ruby's mother picked her up and cradled her. She quickly realised that Ruby was extremely hot to touch.

"Ruby, are you feeling ok? You're burning up!" She exclaimed.

"They said this would happen..." Ruby said tiredly.

"Who said what dear?" She questioned.

"They said the dust would change me," Ruby mumbled, trying to keep her eyelids open. Ruby's mother's eyes widened at this. She almost collapsed in shock.

"They said what!?"

"They said... that the dust would... change me..." Ruby muttered, before falling asleep.

"Did they really... No, they couldn't have. It hasn't been done for decades, centuries even. Surely she misheard, or imagined it." She thought to herself, as she readjusted Ruby in her arms. She bolted away, needing to get home as fast as possible.

She emerged in a small clearing, with trees surrounding her on all sides but one. On the north side, was a humongous cliff. She peered over the edge, but she couldn't see the bottom. She walked away, and her pocket started to vibrate. She sighed, and gently lay Ruby down in the clearing. She pulled her scroll out her pocket.

"Summer, do you read me?" Summer smiled.

"Good evening Tai. I found her." Summer heard a loud sigh of relief.

"Oh thank gods," Tai muttered. "Are you far away now?"

"Yeah, I'm about an hour away. Ruby fell asleep the moment I got her, and she hasn't woken."

"Poor girl..." Taiyang said sadly. "She's been through so much." Summer's ears pricked up as she heard a twig snap in the distance.

"Look, Summer-"

"Tai, quiet!" Summer whispered harshly. The ears on the top of her head wriggled about, straining to hear any sign of movement.

"Summer, what's wrong?" Taiyang asked, concern creeping into his voice. Then Summer saw them. Four massive Ursa emerged out of the tree line, making a beeline for Ruby. Summer threw the scroll the ground, drew her weapons and charged in.

"I JUST GOT HER BACK!" Summer screamed as she slashed the neck of the nearest Ursa. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" The Ursa nearest to her stumbled forward, and swiped at her. She flipped backwards, her back foot skidding on the edge of the cliff. Summer cursed as she leapt forward again.

"Summer!" Taiyang called through the scroll. Summer didn't reply as a large pack of Beowolves burst out of the trees. Ruby slowly stirred to life, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw the scene in front of her. Her mother stood in front of Ruby, and before her were three Ursa, and thirty or forty Beowolves.

All of the Beowolves sprinted at Summer at once, but she cut through the first wave like it was nothing. Limbs were flying, and blood was painting the snow. Summer was hacking at everything in her path, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction.

One of the Ursa galloped at Summer and reared on its hind legs as Summer approached it. The Ursa howled, and soon enough the other two surrounded her. She leapt onto the chest of the Ursa in front of her and shoved a katana into its heart. Summer backflipped away, pulling the katana out as the Ursa fell backwards.

She landed on the head of a Beowolf as it sprinted past, and planted her blades into its brain. It collapsed and skidded along the ground, and Summer was forced to roll off it.

She sprinted at one of the Ursa but realised as she got closer that she couldn't the see the other one. She was about to leap onto the Ursa when the other one rammed into her, sending her flying. She dropped one of her katanas in midair, and couldn't see where it landed. She landed heavily, further injuring her ribs. She struggled to breathe as she was winded. The rest of the Beowolves charged at her.

Out of nowhere, Ruby leapt into the fray with Summer's other katana. She decapitated the leading Beowolf and sliced the arms off the Beowolf behind it. One of the Beowolves leapt at her, and Ruby was forced to dodge it's flailing arms. One of the beasts came from behind her, and Ruby quickly pivoted, dodging its arms and puncturing its heart.

Summer was exhausted. She'd been fighting for almost an hour, and every time she killed, another two seemed to take its place. But she couldn't leave Ruby. Ruby was fighting like never before, determined to get out of this frozen hell. But she too was beginning to tire. A Beowolf stuck at her, and Ruby couldn't raise her blade in time. The beast swatted the katana away and began swing at Ruby.

Ruby rolled underneath the arm of the beast and jumped onto it's back. The Beowolf squirmed and tried to get it's assailant off it's back, but to no avail. Ruby then grasped the beast's head between her hands. The beast howled in pain as Ruby's hands got hotter and hotter. The screaming got louder and louder until Ruby's hands were aflame.

But shockingly, it didn't cause her any pain. Ruby jumped away as the beast erupted into flames, causing the Beowolves who were nearby to panic. Summer, meanwhile, was struggling to take down the two Ursa. She was exhausted, but her maternal instincts refused to let her stop.

Until she slipped. She face planted and rolled away just before an Ursa crushed her. Ruby looked over and saw Summer in trouble.

"Mum!" She shouted as she leapt over the Beowolves in between them. She activated her semblance and dashed to her mum in a flurry of rose petals. But to her horror, she realised her mum was being held down by one of the Ursa.

"MUM RUN!" Ruby screamed, her voice tearing at her throat. Summer looked up and smiled.

"I love you, Ruby!" Summer said, unusually calm.

"MUUUUUUM!" She yelled hysterically, tears streaming down her face. She kept sprinting, but it was too little, too late. The other Ursa stomped down, shattering Summer's skull, killing her instantly.

"NOOOOO!" Ruby fell to her knees, disregarding the fact that the was in serious danger. She screamed into the night, crying uncontrollably as the Grimm closed in. All of a sudden, many long sharp icicles were raised from the ground and surrounded Ruby. She leapt up, and threw her arms and legs back, sending the icicles hurtling towards the Grimm that surrounded her. The icicles buried themselves into the vital organs of every single Grimm in the area. They howled out in pain, and slowly crumpled towards the ground.

Ruby slowly crawled to Summer, openly weeping as she did.

"Mum, please wake up." She said softly. She poked her shoulder. It was obvious that her head had caved in, thanks to the tremendous power of the Ursa, which had somehow managed to break through her aura.

"Mum, please. Don't leave now. MUM PLEASE!" Ruby shouted, not caring of anymore Grimm heard her.

"Ruby?" Her ears pricked up as she heard her name in the distance, but she didn't care. She kept crying, almost to the point of hyperventilating. She crawled until she was next to her mum, and rolled up into a ball.

"Ruby? Ruby!" Taiyang called out. He'd obviously ran the whole way from their house. "Ruby what's..." His voice trailed off as he saw Summer.

"No... No please..." He said weakly, trying to believe that she was alive. Taiyang stayed motionless for a few minutes, trying to comprehend the tragedy in front of him. He turned to Ruby. She had cried until there was nothing left, and now just rocked back and forth, while sucking her thumb. With glistening eyes, he picked up Ruby. They walked home in silence, praying that this was all just a horrible nightmare.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Thanks for the very positive reception to the first chapter of my story! I hope you enjoy the rest! :P  
-CobaltLightning**

* * *

-5 YEARS LATER-

Neo glanced nervously around the room she was waiting in. The room was almost empty, containing only a steel table and two chairs, but not much else would fit inside, as the room was small. A singular light hung from the ceiling which barely illuminated the room. Neo tapped her knuckles on the table as she anxiously stared at the wooden door. She bolted upright as the wooden door opened and Cinder stepped in. She ignored Neo's presence and sat down.

"What happened in there?" Cinder asked, with a sigh.

"I failed to kill everyone, that's it," Neo replied.

"You couldn't even take them all out? I've trained you, raised you since you were two, and you failed to kill everyone aboard that train?" Cinder said angrily.

"There were civilians on board! I wasn't going to kill them!" Neo screamed back.

"What have I told you about following orders?" Cinder replied sternly. Neo sighed.

"Don't think, obey," Neo said quietly.

"So what were you thinking?" Cinder said, as she crossed her arms. Neo had enough.

"They had nothing to do with our operation! I am not about to become a cold-blooded killer because you told me to!" Neo yelled.

"You're getting soft, Neo. Something has changed with you."

"Why should I kill those people? They were innocent!" Neo replied, ignoring her last sentence.

"It doesn't matter. I ordered you to kill everyone, not just the Schnee executives." Neo clenched her teeth.

"If this is how you're gonna treat me because I didn't kill a couple of innocents, I'm out," Neo muttered angrily. Neo stood up, but Cinder was faster and forced her back into her seat. Cinder leant forward, her face barely inches from Neo's. She stared into her brown and pink eyes and pulled her lips back into a snarl. Neo felt her blood boil at her close proximity, and she curled her fist into a ball to stop herself from doing something she'd regret.

"You dare talk to me like that? I am-"

"Yes, I know you're Cinder Fall, leader of this operation. Does it look like I give a flying fuck?" Neo interrupted, nonchalantly. Cinder widened her eyes. She had never been spoken to like this by one of her followers. She slapped Neo as hard as she could in the face.

Neo tasted the metallic flavour of blood and quickly spat it out, then rose to her feet. Even though they were in a small room, it didn't stop Neo from grabbing her umbrella and jumping at Cinder. She swung her umbrella but looked down in horror as Cinder lit it on fire.

As Neo landed, Cinder summoned her swords and unleashed her onslaught. Neo desperately tried to remove her blade from her umbrella but swore when Cinder knocked it away. Cinder continued to slash at Neo, striking at every part of her body. Neo shrieked in pain, as the swords heated her body to unnatural temperatures. Cinder slammed Neo into a wall, and punched her in the chest and stomach, over and over.

Neo doubled over, her brain unable to comprehend the immense pain all over her body. Cinder slammed her elbow into Neo's head, sending her tumbling to the floor. Neo managed to sit up, and desperately crawled away from Cinder. She reached the door, with Cinder slowly stalking her from the other side of the table. She struggled to reach the handle, but her eyes widened in fear and horror as she realised the door was locked. Cinder sauntered over and picked her up by the throat.

As Neo desperately tried to squirm out of her grip and take a breath, Cinder slammed her into the table and dented the steel. Cinder dropped her swords and instead summoned a large war hammer. Neo howled out in pain as Cinder smashed it into her thigh repeatedly and unable to deal with the tremendous amounts of pain, Neo blacked out.

Cinder sighed as she looked down at Neo. Her face had blood slowly leaking out of the many cuts which tainted her face. Her clothes were already stained a crimson red and a small pool of blood was beginning to fill the large dent in the table. Her right thigh was coloured dark purple and blue. Cinder looked at her normally brown and pink hair and discovered it was matted with blood.

Cinder turned around and yanked the door open. She now stood at the end of a long hallway, which had five doors on either side that lead to similar rooms to the one she was just in. She walked to the other end of the hallway and reached a staircase.

"Roman," She yelled out. "I need some help."

"I'm a little-" His voice was cut out by a loud explosion.

20 MINUTES EARLIER

"Alright teams, we're on our way to the drop point now. Perform any last minute weapon check-ups now, and convene with your leaders to go over the plan." Professor Port called out to the two teams in the aircraft.

"This is so exciting!" Nora yelled, unable to stay in one spot.

"Nora, please. We're going to battle, not a pancake buffet." Ren said calmly. Nora pouted at her partner's lack of enthusiasm but kept quiet for now. On the other side of the airship, Ruby giggled at the exchange. She was putting the final touches on Crescent Rose and triple checked she had it's ammunition in the pouch on her hip.

"So Cap'n, what are we doing?" Yang asked as she strode across the airship while sliding Ember Celica onto her wrists.

"Weren't you listening to the other three times I explained it?" Ruby asked while sighing in exasperation.

"Nope!"

"Fine," Ruby huffed. "Blake, Weiss, I'm going over the plan again." The monochrome duo looked up from their places in the ship and after gathering their belongings, took their places around Ruby.

"Alrighty team, this is how it's gonna go down. Firstly, we are gonna be the first off the ship. We're landing a few blocks away from the White Fang's warehouse, and we gotta get inside. Once inside the warehouse, we are going to split into pairs, with Me and Weiss making up one pair, and Blake and Yang being the other." Ruby explained.

"Once we have split up, Team Iceflower will take the left side of the warehouse while Bumblebee will take the right. Team JNPR and Professor Port shouldn't be too far behind us, and they are gonna go straight up the middle and hopefully find Torchwick. Once JNPR and Port have Torchwick, we leave. Any questions?"

"No, I think you covered everything," Weiss stated, with Blake nodding her head in agreement. A few minutes later, the ship touched down. They were in the industrial sector of Vale, which was covered by large warehouses typically occupied with construction services.

"Alright team RWBY, let's go!" Ruby shouted. Ruby sprinted off the airship, with the rest of her team not too far behind. They stuck to the shadows and kept low, avoiding all unnecessary attention.

Ruby slowed her pace as the White Fang warehouse became visible. It was larger than most of the other warehouses, and the property was surrounded by a large mesh fence. The area around the warehouse was littered with shipping containers of random colours bearing no symbol to identify where they came from, and oil drums which were scattered around in large mounds.

"So what do we do now?" Weiss asked.

"Simple. We make our presence known." Ruby replied. She then quickly sprinted towards the fence. As she ran, she pulled out Cresent Rose, and while it was still in its compact form, jumped and shot it into the ground. She vaulted over the fence and landed next to a shipping container. Yang wasn't far behind, using her Ember Celica to leap over the fence. As she landed, a loud siren started blaring.

Weiss looked at Blake and shrugged. "Well, we better not leave them to fight on their own." Weiss leapt from glyph to glyph to clear the fence as Blake vaulted over using her semblance. The monochrome duo landed next to the sisters and was immediately forced to take cover as bullets ricocheted off the shipping containers around them. Ruby glanced over at the new arrivals before cautiously sticking her head out if the cover of the shipping container to try and see where the enemy was taking their positions.

They had split up into groups of five to ten and were spread out all over the yard. Most of the White Fang had taken cover behind shipping containers or oil drums, except for a group of fifteen who were standing in a line in front of the entrance to the warehouse. Ruby grinned as she realised it would be easier then they thought to clear the property out.

"Blake, Yang. You two punch a hole through their defences and Me and Weiss will clear the rest out." Ruby commanded.

"Weiss and I." Weiss corrected. Ruby shrugged and rolled her eyes as Blake and Yang leapt over the shipping container they were behind. Yang darted towards the nearest group of White Fang. Although there was ten of them, Yang dodged or blocked all of their bullets while simultaneously knocking them out with heavy hits to the head. Several of the White Fang landed twenty or more meters away from where they got hit.

At the same time, Blake approached a group of White Fang who were huddled behind a pile of oil drums. They saw Blake and began to aim at her. To all their surprise, she made no effort to move out of their line of sight. They shot at her, but couldn't believe their eyes when Blake seemed to dissipate as the bullets struck her. One of the group turned around in time to see Blake as she smashed the hilt of Gambol Shroud between his eyes. He fell like a sack of potatoes, and the rest of the group endured similar fates.

With the remainder of the White Fang focusing on Yang and Blake, none of them saw the flurry of rose petals coming from their flank. Ruby danced around the opposition at the entrance to the warehouse, easily sidestepping all of the attacks thrown at her while delivering her own brutal strikes with the blunt side of Crescent Rose to incapacitate the guards. The twenty remaining White Fang started to panic and slowly retreated towards the warehouse.

But they soon realised the were caught between hammer and anvil as Ruby, Blake and Yang slowly closed in on them, forcing them into one big group. The three members of Team RWBY stopped advancing and the White Fang looked around in confusion. What they didn't notice was a large, blue glyph forming at their feet. Once it was big enough to cover all of the White Fang, it turned red and promptly exploded. Bodies were sent flying at high velocity all over the property.

"Nice work guys!" Ruby said enthusiastically. "Remember, once we're inside, we'll be splitting off with our partners with Me and Weiss taking the left side and Yang and Blake taking the right. All good?" Weiss sighed at her leader's poor grammar, while the other two nodded.

"Yep. Let's roll." Yang said. They quickly made a beeline to the warehouse's massive iron door, which must have been closed at some point during the fight.

"There's no way we're opening that," Weiss stated.

"Well, there might be a way..." Ruby said quietly, her voice trailing off.

"What is it?" Yang asked. Ruby remained quiet, but Blake noticed her scanning the yard they had just fought on.

"Ruby, you can't be serious." Blake sighed. "Using the oil drums to blow the door open?"

"Hey, none of us has the firepower to blast our way in, and there aren't any other ways inside."

"Well... I guess we should start collecting some of the drums then." Blake said slowly.

"Alrighty, let's get cracking!" Ruby said excitedly. She used her semblance to quickly gather a small mountain of drums, while the rest barely managed to get two each. After quickly placing the drums around the entrance, the girls retreated back to the shipping container they first hid behind.

"Yang, use your armour piercing rounds on 'em," Ruby said.

"Sure thing Rubes!" Yang said cheerfully, as she lined up her shot. She fired, and seconds later the world was filled with an immense light and a deafening explosion.

"Good shot Yang! Let's move." Ruby yelled, leading the way to the warehouse. The door to the warehouse had been obliterated, with a five-metre wide hole now in the centre. The edges of the crater were still smouldering as the girls dashed through.

The warehouse was massive, with empty a shipping containers stacked 4 high lining the walls, and many White Fang were scurrying around, obviously trying to arm themselves after the explosion. Without speaking, the team split up time pairs, with Weiss and Ruby dashing to the left side of the warehouse as Yang and Blake leapt into combat on the right side of the warehouse.

Ruby had barely taken out two or three people before the sound of someone yelling was heard. It got louder and louder and until Nora burst through the roof, her hammer already singing its deadly song.

"HIYA!" She yelled as her hammer impacted against the ground. It formed a huge crater, and the warehouse was shaken to its roots. The White Fang who had been within ten metres of Nora had been thrown through the air and collided against the walls of the warehouse. The other three members of team JNPR and Professor Port emerged from the door in the warehouse and immediately began fighting the enemy. After only mere minutes, the White Fang's numbers had more than halved.

"Team RWBY! Push up to the next level! We'll stay here and fight the rest!" Professor Port yelled.

"Understood!" Ruby replied. She wasted no time in sprinting to the stairwell to the next floor, with the rest of her team not far behind. However, as she got halfway up the stairs, Ruby heard the loud rumbling of a jet engine.

"I'm gonna use my semblance! I'll see you up there!" She shouted before disappearing into a could of rose petals. She vaguely heard the protests of her team as she sped closer to the second floor. She burst out of the staircase and dashed across the corridor. She heads the whirring of the engine as she got closer to the end of the corridor. She noticed a ladder with led to the roof, and practically leapt up it.

"End of the line Red!" Roman shouted from above the noise of the jet. Ruby looked up, and just as she made eye contact with him, he closed the hatch and the Jet lifted into the air. Ruby began to fold her scythe into its compact form and took aim before it had finished its transformation. As soon as it had finished, she unleashed a barrage of shots on the airship. Much to her anger and disappointment, she bullets merely dented the airship, and it continued flying into the horizon.

Swearing under her breath, she jumped back through the hatch in time to see her team running down the corridor.

"They got away," Ruby said bitterly. Saying nothing, Weiss strode forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"You tried you best, Rubes. Don't beat yourself up." Yang said softly, reaching down and scratching the base of her ear.

"I'm fine guys. Let's just help Professor Port and leave this place." Ruby commanded. Nodding in agreement, the began to return to the first floor. However, Ruby happened to glance inside a room who's door had been left slightly ajar and gasped in shock. She sprinted in, was left flabbergasted at the sight.

Neo was still lying on the table, in a small pool of her blood. Her hair was matted with blood, and her clothes had been stained an ugly red. Yet, Ruby found herself drawn to the girl. She placed her hand on Neo's ankle, and Neo immediately jerked. Ruby jumped back, yet Neo remained unconscious.

"YANG!" Ruby shouted. There was no need, though, with the rest of her team having followed her in when she gasped. "Yang, help me lift her. Blake and Weiss can guard us out."

"Okay, on the count of three," Yang said. "1... 2... 3!" The sisters lifted Neo, who was unsurprising light for her size.

"Alrighty. Weiss, Blake, you guys take point and we'll follow you out." Ruby ordered. The monochrome duo dashed out the door, with the others right on their tail. As they sprinted down the stairs and emerged back into the main area if the warehouse, they were relatively unsurprised to find all the White Fang either unconscious, in handcuffs or dead.

"Professor! We found her in one of the side rooms. She needs immediate medical attention." Ruby announced. Team JNPR drew back a step as they saw Neo, but Port merely pressed a button on his scroll and grunted in satisfaction.

"There's an airship inbound now. Once the girl is on board, I want one of you to return to help here, and debrief." Ruby and Yang nodded and quickly walked outside. As they stepped out the warehouse the airship touched down in front of them.

"Yang, you go back. I'll stay." Ruby said after Neo had been laid down on a stretcher, and two medical officers began working on her.

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon." As soon as Yang stepped off the airship it took off, and Ruby merely watched as the medics stitched up the worse of her cuts. But for whatever reason, Ruby was drawn to the girl's face. Even though it was covered in blood with cuts all over the shop, it was beautiful. Ruby found herself staring at her many times during the short flight. She felt almost drawn to her, and when they touched down, she accompanied her to the Infirmary.

Neo didn't regain consciousness the whole night, and Ruby still didn't leave. Her team arrived an hour or so later and found Ruby waiting patiently for the girl to wake up. When asked why, Ruby merely said, "She's gotta know something about the enemy.", and her team left it at that. They left soon after, leaving Ruby to keep herself company. It was fast approaching midnight, and Ruby found herself drifting off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody! I just wanna thank everyone for the amazing support! For some people, 20 favourites and 40 follows might not seem like much, but it does mean a lot to me that people are enjoying what I'm writing. Thank you all again, and please feel free to review, follow and favourite if you haven't already!  
-CobaltLightning13**

* * *

Ruby woke up early the next morning, yet the sun was already rising and shining through the window, directly onto Ruby's face. She yawned quietly before stretching in the chair she'd slept in. She looked over at Neo, who, judging by the tiny, cute snores she was emitting, was still asleep. The nurses had done a good job cleaning her up, as almost all her blood was cleaned off her, and most of her cuts were stitched up. Her leg was suspended in the air, covered in plaster. Ruby rose and looked down at Neo, finally getting a good look at her. She took in every detail, from her cute little nose to the trio of colours in her hair.

Ruby quietly left and went to the infirmary kitchen, and made two hot chocolates. Smirking, she put one pink and one white marshmallow into each cup, as well as ten for eating in the interim, before returning to Neo's room. She put one cup on the table next to Neo's bed and sat back in her seat. She'd only been sitting down for a few minutes before an extraordinarily loud groan erupted from Neo, as she stirred to life.

"Ow fuck!" Neo exclaimed loudly.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ruby asked as she jumped to her feet. Neo squeaked loudly, and rather cutely in Ruby's mind, as Neo threw her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Ruby said apologetically. Neo just stared at her, wide-eyed. She started to write in the air, which thoroughly confused Ruby.

"Oh, you want paper?" Ruby exclaimed after it dawned on her. Neo nodded in appreciation, and Ruby quickly scavenged for a pen and paper, which was surprisingly hard in an infirmary. After collecting her loot, she gave it to Neo who began writing.

"Where am I, and how did I get here?" Neo had written. Ruby gave her a quizzical look before answering.

"You're at Beacon, and we rescued you after we attacked a White Fang warehouse. Why don't you talk?" Neo was already writing before Ruby had finished talking.

"Well, thank you for saving me. And I hate talking around people. Can I have a drink?"

"Nah that's fine! And okay... Do you like hot chocolate?" Ruby got an emphatic nod in return to her question. "Then look to your left," Ruby said. Neo gasped, before peering into her cup. She pointed into her cup, then pointed at her hair while staring accusatively at Ruby. Ruby grinned in return, before laughing as Neo rolled her eyes.

"So... what happened to you? You're not evil are you?" Ruby asked hesitantly. Neo put her cup down and took a few seconds to think about what she was going to write.

"I had an argument with Cinder, my boss. She did this to me. And I'm not evil, I live in that grey zone between good and evil."

"Oh that's a relief, I'd feel bad about the drink if you were gonna murder me later," Ruby stated.

"You are putting a lot of trust in me. How do you know I'm not lying?" Neo wrote.

"I like to trust people." Came Ruby's simple reply.

"I like you XD" Neo wrote. Ruby blushed for some reason.

"Thank you," Ruby replied timidly. Ruby almost said something else but the door swung open.

"Ahh, it's good to see you awake. My name is Professor Ozpin, I hope you feel better than you did yesterday." Ozpin said as he pulled a chair next to Ruby. "And good morning Ruby."

"Good morning Professor," Ruby replied. "And she... doesn't talk."

"So that explains the paper. What's your name, Miss?"

"Neopolitan, or Neo." Neo wrote.

"Well, it is a pleasure Neo. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Neo shook her head in response.

"Thank you. Do you still associate yourself with Cinder or the White Fang." Neo shook her head angrily and pointed to her reply to Ruby's question about the same topic.

"Oh, I see. And my only other question for today is, do you know where Cinder or Roman Torchwick are?" Neo pursed her lips but shook her head in response.

"Thank you anyway. If you happen to remember, please do let me know. Anyway, I hope you get better soon. Ladies." Ozpin nodded his head at the girls as he left the room.

"Neopolitan..." Ruby uttered the name as if savouring how it felt to say. Neo looked at her curiously. "It's a cute name!" Ruby exclaimed. Neo seemed taken aback by Ruby's outburst. Neo quickly wrote on her piece of paper.

"What's your name? :P" Ruby smacked herself.

"I'm Ruby Rose! It's a pleasure to meet you, Neo!" Ruby said with a smile, which was reciprocated. "Anyway, I need to go too or my team will worry... feel better soon Neo!" Ruby said as she stood up.

"Thank you." Ruby froze and looked at Neo, who had suddenly become very interested in a spot on her bed sheet. It was quiet, but Neo had definitely spoken, out loud.

"No worries!" Ruby said with a huge smile, before bounding out the room.

Neo watched her leave, before staring deeply into her bedsheets. She'd heard that name before. 'Rose' was not a common surname.

When she returned to her room, she was mildly disappointed to find it empty. She might've understood of Blake or Weiss were out early, they usually took up residence at the library before an important test, such as the one coming up on Monday. But Yang was never our early, unless...

"RUBAAAAAAY" Shouted the blond herself as Ruby's ears flicked up in response. She'd smashed the door open, presumably with a kick, before stumbling inside.

"Unless she'd never returned home." Ruby thought to herself. Yang's hair was thrown all over the place, and her breath reeked of alcohol.

"Good night out?" Ruby meekly asked.

"Sis, SIS, you had to be there! Did you know they made pancakes WITH TEQUILA? Nora knew a place!" Yang shouted.

"How... does that even work?" Ruby returned as she changed out the clothes she'd slept in.

"I don't know or care, but it works! And it looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't sleep here last night..." Yang said suspiciously as she glared intently at Ruby.

"I was keeping guard over the girl we brought in." Ruby coolly replied. Yang kept staring at Ruby as she rolled hey eyes and laughed. "Do you think I'm consorting with the enemy?" The redhead said sarcastically. Yang was about to reply before she sprinted into the bathroom and let loose an unholy amount of vomit. Sighing, Ruby followed her in and held her hair back.

Ruby heard the door slam open again, which was followed by an energetic ginger announcing her entrance.

"The Queen Of The Castle has entered the building! Please surrender your lien as a donation to the Royal Family!" Nora yelled.

"Nora, please keep it down." Ren countered in a more appropriate volume. Nora dashed into the bathroom and saw Yang spewing litres of vomit into the toilet.

"REN! REEEEN! The Princess of the Castle is dying! You need to help!" Nora cried, as her eyes got teary and she dashed to Yang's side. Ren walked in, holding a jug of a green... substance.

"Yang, drink this." He said, holding the jug out to her. She rose a shaky hand and took a sip of Ren's concoction then promptly proceeded to throw up again. Nora then turned to the bathtub and began hurling too. Sighing, Ren patted Nora on the back before turning to Ruby.

"If you wanna leave, feel free. I've got this covered." Ren offered.

"Thanks, Ren! I owe you!" Ruby said thankfully as she bounded out the bathroom. She sprayed herself with perfume to rid herself of the smell of vomit before leaving and heading towards the cafeteria. She gathered her breakfast, consisting of yoghurt and strawberries, before seeing Weiss eating at the back of the dining area.

"Hey, partner!" Ruby said chirpily.

"Ruby," Weiss said as nodded her head. "How's the girl doing?"

"The nurses did a good job, they've cleaned her, stitched her and her leg is in a cast. She also doesn't talk."

"So I assume you didn't find anything out?"

"Nah, she wrote replies to what I said to her! She was attacked by Cinder."

"If she isn't dead, she clearly worked for Cinder then." Ruby nodded in reply.

"Anyway! Whatcha doin' today?" Ruby questioned.

"Well, we've got to debrief in... Oh, ten minutes?"

"Wait what? Do we all have to be there?" Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Yes. They're talking to us separately from JNPR though."

"Well... I doubt Yang will be attending."

"She actually went out with Nora?"

"Yep. She's... not in a great state." Rolling her eyes, Weiss stood up.

"Well, let's get Blake who should be back at the dorms, then we'll go to Ozpin's office."

"So... Yang and Nora are paying for the door, yeah?" Blake asked. Ruby and Weiss had just reached the dorm when they saw Blake standing calmly out the front. The door in question had been recommissioned and was now the entrance to the pillow fort Yang and Nora had erected.

"Most definitely," Weiss replied. "Do we wanna leave before they see us?"

"Ehh, we can save Ren when we get back," Ruby said with a shrug. A sense of guilt overcame her as they walked away, but she had more important things to do. The walk to Ozpin's office was completed in relative silence, given the quiet nature of the monochrome girls. Once they reached his office, Ruby knocked.

"Please, come in," Ozpin called out. The girls filed in, taking a seat around his desk. "I was expecting a fourth student to attend?"

"Yang is a little under the weather, she couldn't make it. I'm sorry about that." Blake answered.

"Aww well, it can't be helped. So, standard post-mission procedure. Other than the girl, did you find anything of importance?"

"Well, the link between Roman Torchwick, The White Fang and Cinder was most definitely confirmed, but other than that, there wasn't much. A large number of guns were secured, as well as a moderate amount of various dust." Ruby responded.

"And, if you had to guess, how many of the White Fang were there?" Ozpin quizzed.

"There would've had to of been at least ninety, you reckon?" Ruby replied while looking at Blake and Weiss for confirmation.

"Yeah, I'd say something around that."

"Hmm... That's what Professor Port reported as well. Which is triple the number of agents the report claimed."

"If they needed that many people... what were they doing there? I mean, we found nothing! And Cinder, the person I'm assuming is in charge of this operation, was there." Weiss questioned.

"Professor, is the warehouse safe? With your permission, I'd like to return to check something out." Ruby asked. They all looked at her with puzzled expressions.

"I don't see why not," Ozpin answered. "I'd take your team, though, in case someone returns."

"I actually wanted to take the girl, Neo." Ruby returned.

"What?" Weiss exclaimed.

"She used to be with them. She may know something about the building." Ruby explained.

"I'll have to think about that, Ruby. We don't know how dangerous she is." Ozpin responded.

"Well, we gotta wait until she's better anyway, but I think she may know something."

"Well, until we know more about her, we'll put that on hold. So, is there anything else?" The girls shook their heads.

"Well, you're free to leave. But please, make sure Yang makes an appearance next time."

"Will do, sir," Blake said, as they left the office. Ruby stretched as she walked into the sun, soaking up its warm rays.

"Ruby, what do you expect to find?" Weiss questioned as they walked back.

"I don't know... But I've got a feeling. A feeling that we definitely missed something." She replied cryptically.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys! I know these chapters are a little slow, but please bear with me, because there will be a lot more action soon. But thank you all for reading, please review, favourite and follow and enjoy the chapter!  
-CobaltLightning13**

* * *

She didn't have nightmares often. In fact, it has been years since she had one this realistic. Her mother, wrapped up in her cloak, kneeling on the ground. A heard of Grim, all bunched around her in a circle. Nothing but the snowflakes moved, coating everything in a soft white coat. Unable to control herself, Ruby slowly moved closer to the circle. She felt herself get colder with every step forward. As she got within a metre of the Grim, they parted for her, letting her through to her mother.

Summer looked up, and Ruby saw a mangled, broken face. Bleeding profusely from a hole in the side of her head. She couldn't speak and she just merely stared back at Ruby. Ruby couldn't control her own arms as they raised Crescent Rose. She heard a little girl screaming somewhere in the woods, and Summer jerked her head in the direction in came from. A young Ruby broke out from the tree line and stopped dead in her tracks as she realised what was happening. With a neutral expression, she swung Crescent Rose downwards.

"RUBY!" She snapped awake and bolted upright. The first thing she noticed was how cold she was, even though it was a warm night. She saw Yang standing in the middle of the room... surrounded by ice?

"What the hell happened?" Blake called out as she stirred to life after Yang's outburst. For the first time since she'd known Blake, she'd seen surprise drawn onto her face. Ruby then looked down at her hands. They were a ghostly white, with an ice blue pattern etched into them. She looked at the rest of her arms and realised her veins too had changed colour and had become a bright blue.

"I'm so so sorry," Ruby muttered as her eyes began to water.

"How did you do this?" Blake asked incredulously. Weiss had silently risen too and stood on top of her bed to look at Ruby in the eyes. She peered at her curiously.

"Can I see your hands please?" She said simply. Ruby shakily rose her hands, and Blake gasped.

"I don't believe it..." Weiss uttered. "There's dust, in you. In your bloodstream..."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed.

"It happened when she was young," Yang explained as Ruby stayed silent.

"Why have we never known?" Weiss asked.

"I don't want this," Ruby replied, barely louder than a whisper. Before anyone could interrupt, she continued. "This was forced upon me. My mother died trying to save me..." Yang jumped onto Ruby's bed and cradled her in her arms as tears began to sneak out of her eyes. "Every time I use these powers... I... I see her." No one really knew how to react. None of them expected to wake up at three in the morning to find their room frozen over, let alone hear Ruby, as little details as there were, open up about herself. Yet here they were, Ruby crying into Yang's shoulder as they looked on helplessly.

With a saddened expression, Weiss did the only thing she thought appropriate and made Ruby's 'rediculous' coffee. It took a few minutes, and a couple of sips of the coffee, but Ruby finally spoke again.

"I'm sorry about this, I didn't mean to wake anyone."

"It's okay Rubes... do you think you can go back to sleep?" Yang replied.

"I just wanna take a quick walk. I don't want to sleep right now." She didn't want to have another nightmare.

"One of us can go with you?" Blake offered.

"No, it's fine. Go to sleep, please. I don't want you tired for the test tomorrow."

"Stay safe Ruby," Weiss added as she left the room.

"You don't want to stop her?" Blake asked Yang.

"She's been like this before. She'll be right."

"Well, that's good to hear. In the interim, what are we doing about this ice?" Weiss questioned. Yang stood in the middle of the ice and activated her semblance.

"If you don't want everything if this room to become extremely damp, I'd open out windows and door." Her body temperature rose, until the ice around her began to turn to steam.

* * *

She wandered about aimlessly throughout the beautiful gardens that surrounded beacon. It was a clear night, though the sun would be rising in a few hours. She realised she clearly wasn't as over her mother's passing as she thought she was. She was on autopilot as she lost herself deep in thought. She'd been able to control her powers, especially recently, but she still was yet to master them.

She snapped back into reality as she realised where she was. She was standing outside the Infirmary, with one hand on the handle. Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed the door open. She made her way into the kitchen and made two hot chocolates exactly the same as she did the day before. She made her way to Neo's room but stopped short as she noticed the light was on in her room. She snuck a little closer and heard Ozpin talking.

"Just consider it, okay? You're always welcome here." He said quietly, as he stood up. Ruby looked for a place to hide in the hallway, but it was bare. She ran to the closest room and praying no one was inside, dashed in. She sighed softly when she saw no one else inside. Ozpin walked past a few seconds later without a second glance. She waited a minute before cautiously opening the door and sneaking down to Neo's room. She knocked on the door twice before entering and turning the light on.

"Hey Neo," Ruby said as she walked in. Neo looked at her in surprise before smiling at her. "Want a drink?" Neo nodded rapidly in response. She placed the cup on the table next to Neo, before pulling a chair closer to Neo. "What did Ozpin want?"

"He wants to know if I want to attend Beacon as a student." She wrote on a whiteboard.

"Oh wow, really? What did you say?" Ruby exclaimed.

"I... don't know. I used to be a criminal, now I'll be upholding the law? But... it is either Beacon or prison..."

"They'll send you to jail?!" Ruby replied, shocked.

"They can't ignore the things I've done, Ruby." Ruby was silent. Not everyone was as innocent as she'd like to believe. She looked up as Neo grunted. "What are you doing here so late anyway?" She had no idea. She'd almost come here by accident, yet she didn't want to be anywhere else.

"I... had a nightmare. About something I thought I had under control. I woke my friends up, so I left." Ruby replied hesitantly.

"But that's not all, is it?" Ruby hesitated again. How much could she trust Neo?

"N-no... I accidentally froze my room." She said quietly.

"Does that have something to do with the dust?" Neo wrote.

"What?!" Ruby blurted out.

"After you said your last name, I remembered another 'Rose'. And after putting two and two together..." Neo noticed Ruby had become silent and still. "I'm so sorry for your loss Ruby. That was all Cinder and her plan." Ruby's eyes were wide with shock. She was numb to the world. They never found out who had been behind the events of that night. That's when something clicked inside of Ruby. She needed to deal revenge out against Cinder as much as Neo had to. She didn't know how to feel.

"Ruby?" Neo's tiny voice called out hesitantly. And with that, Ruby was instantly brought back to Remnant.

"Sorry about that..." She replied sheepishly. Neo held her whiteboard out.

"Your hair is on fire." It read.

"Oh thanks for the heads up," She said as she retook control of her power. "I just... was a bit shocked I guess."

"Your nightmare was about Summer, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"I was barely twelve when that happened. I didn't even know Torchwick then."

"Thank god for that..." Ruby breathed. "I wanna help you get Cinder." She said bluntly, with a steely determination in her eyes. Did they have a glint of red?

Neo smiled. Not like the smiles Ruby had previously seen... this was almost sadistic. Psychopathic.

"This is gonna be fun then."

"Stay at Beacon. Be a student. You'll have access to all kinds of resources."

"I think I might just do that. But you may want to refine your power if you're gonna fight Cinder."

"Can you teach me?" Ruby asked.

"I've only ever seen Cinder use it, or teach others. But I can try."

"Thank you. How's your leg?"

"It'll be good in a few days, especially now that my aura is back."

"When it's healed, do you wanna come back to the warehouse? I think we missed something when we were going through it, and I'm hoping you know something we don't."

"I'm sure I'll find something you missed ;P" Neo wrote, with a smirk on her face. Ruby paused for a few seconds.

"Well, I do have a test tomorrow morning... I think I need to get some sleep." Ruby announced.

"Can you please stay? It's already 5, the sun is gonna rise soon." Neo wrote, with her best puppy eyes on her face. Ruby smiled.

"I don't see why not." Ruby rose and parted the curtains to the room to get the best view possible.

"Do you think you'll ever be comfortable talking to me?" Ruby asked as she went back to her seat.

"I think I will, someday." She wrote with a smile. And after that, they sat together in silence. Neo stared intently out the window, seeking out the first rays of sunlight to appear on the horizon.

On the other hand, Ruby stared intently at Neo. She'd never felt more drawn to anyone else. Even when she was bleeding out back at the warehouse, Ruby felt an overwhelming need to protect her.

A few minutes later, Ruby heard Neo pat the spot next to her on the bed. Ruby looked up and saw Neo pointing out to the horizon. The sun had painted the scenery around them in light.

"It is gorgeous, huh?" Ruby muttered quietly.

"Mm-hmm." Was Neo's reply, as she stared at Ruby, unbeknownst to her. After relaxing for a few minutes more, Ruby got up.

"I really have to go now..." She said sadly.

"Thank you for staying." Neo vocalised. Ruby gave her a tired side smile before stepping out the room.

Neo waited a few seconds after Ruby left, before raising her hand. After a snap of her fingers, it was on fire.

"You're not alone, Ruby."

* * *

"Where were you, Ruby? Are you okay?" Yang asked worriedly. She was waiting inside their room, alone, after the monochrome duo had left early to meet with Pyrrah to get some final study done.

"I'm alright Yang. I just slept in the forest, like old times." Ruby lied. "I just needed some air. And I'm fine, we can talk about it after the final."

"Are you okay to sit that final today? We can talk to Ozpin if you don't feel prepared."

"Yang, I feel fine. Let's just get this done."

"Okay, but we gotta talk about last night at some point. Is that alright?" Yang asked, fretting over Ruby.

"Yeah, that's fine. Also, before we go in..." Ruby paused as Yang leant in expectantly. "It was all Cinder."

"What?!" Yang exclaimed wide-eyed.

"But we can talk about that later. For now, we need to pass our first year of Beacon Academy."


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: I just want to thank you all so much, again, for the support you've given this story. I didn't think my story could get 50+ follows and almost 30 favourites, especially after only 4 chapters. So thank you all so much, and feel free to critique my work by reviewing. Follows and favourites are also appreciated!  
** - **CobaltLightning13**

* * *

It'd had been a few days since her nightmare, and for the most part, she'd been feeling like her normal self. She had sat all of her finals for the year, and although she wouldn't be achieving the same grades as Blake or Weiss, she thought she'd done really well. Other then another chat with her team, no one had mentioned the incident. Ruby decided to tell them everything about that night, and as emotional as it was, she had to get it out there. However, for a reason she couldn't fathom, she forgot to mention Cinder's involvement.

Ruby had also made a habit of getting up a little earlier than usual to go down to the infirmary, make two hot chocolates and visit Neo. She was getting ready to leave this particular morning when Yang stopped her at the door.

"You're going to go see her again, aren't you?" She stated more than asked.

"Yep!" Ruby replied, popping her 'p'.

"Just be careful, alright? I don't trust her."

"Yang, there's something I may have forgotten to tell you," Ruby said sheepishly.

"What..." Yang replied suspiciously.

"I know who did this to me," Ruby said, as sparks crackled along her arm. "I know who to blame for that night. Thanks to Neo."

"Who?" Yang almost shouted.

"Cinder Fall."

"We gotta tell Ozpin, Rubes."

"Not a chance. If he knows, he won't let us anywhere near any White Fang missions."

"So? Someone more qualified can take them. Unless... You want to take her yourself." Ruby nodded at Yang. "Then you better speak to Weiss and Blake when they get back. If we're hunting Cinder, they deserve to know."

"I will. Anyway, I best be on my way."

"Just... be careful, yeah Ruby?"

"Of course sis. Catchya!" And with that, Ruby darted out the door. It was an overcast day in Vale as Ruby made her way towards the Infirmary. Once she got inside, she made her usual route towards the small kitchen and got two mugs out from the cupboard. She was about to grab the milk out of the fridge when something sharp struck her head.

"What the hell?" Ruby exclaimed. She looked around and saw a paper plane on the floor. She picked it up and unfolded it.

"I think I might go for a coffee today :P" It read. Ruby smiled as she turned around and saw Neo leaning on the bench. She was wearing identical clothes as the ones she was wearing when they found her.

"It's good to see you standing! I didn't know you were so small" Ruby said with a giggle. Neo frowned at her and hurled another plane at Ruby. "How do you like your coffee?"

"One sugar and one marshmallow please" Neo had written on another paper plane, which was thrown towards Ruby.

"How many of these do you have?" Ruby asked. Stepping away from the bench, Neo revealed a small pile of at least ten more planes.

"You idiot," Ruby said with a grin. She finished making their coffees soon after.

"Did you decide if you're going to stay here?" Ruby asked as they drunk their coffees.

"I'm gonna stay. I am not going to jail. But if I fuck up here... straight to jail."

"Well, it'll be awesome to have you around. Just don't screw anything up and you'll be fine!" Ruby said with a laugh. Neo smiled back and they finished their coffee.

"I suppose we better go talk to Ozpin." Another one of Neo's planes said.

"Yeah, let's head off now." Ruby agreed. They set off soon after Ruby had cleaned up after herself. As soon as they stepped outside, Neo stretched and yawned incredibly loudly.

"I haven't been outside for ages." Neo wrote onto a piece of paper, which had previously been a plane, as Ruby looked at her incredulously.

After a few minutes, they found themselves at the front of Ozpin's office. Ruby knocked and a few seconds later Ozpin called them into his office.

"Ruby, Neo, good morning.

"Good morning professor," Ruby replied as Neo nodded at Ozpin.

"It is good to see you out and about, Neo. How's your leg holding up?" She shrugged her shoulders in response.

"If she's fine, professor, can we take her to the warehouse? It's surely been abandoned, they wouldn't have come back." Ruby asked.

"I've thought about it Ruby... and if you're accompanied by Professor Port, who's already agreed, I don't see an issue."

"Thank you, professor."

"And Neo, since you've been so cooperative during my questioning, I think you've earned these," Ozpin said as he pulled Neo's scroll and umbrella from under his desk. Neo smiled gleefully as she received her possessions. "Just don't make me regret it," Ozpin added. Neo nodded politely back.

"Where's she going to stay?" Ruby asked.

"Until further arrangements can be made, she'll stay in a guest room usually reserved for visiting huntsman. Room... 19 I believe? Is that all?" Ozpin asked.

"I think that's it. Thank you, professor." Neo shook his hand as she stood up, and the pair exited the office.

"After we visit this warehouse, we gotta go back to my apartment and get my stuff." Neo wrote on her scroll.

"You have your own place?" Ruby asked, getting a nod in response. "Yeah, that sounds alright. We can leave to go to the warehouse tomorrow evening if everyone else is free."

After she had shown Neo her room, which was rather modest in size, the pair of them headed towards Ruby's dorm. Ruby had texted the rest of her team to meet her there, and they arrived a couple of minutes after Ruby and Neo.

"So, Yang already knows this, but you two need to know what I'm about to tell you." Ruby started. "Thanks to Neo, I now know who to blame for my mother's passing." She paused.

"Who... who was it?" Blake asked.

"It was all Cinder. And I plan on hunting her down."

"Then count me in. She ruined Adam, she took control of the White Fang. She turned it into the bloodthirsty terrorist group. I'm with you, Ruby." Blake announced.

"And don't forget me. I'll only be too happy to help, to repay the losses she sustained upon my father's company, and more importantly, the people she took from me." Weiss said with steely conviction.

"In that case, I've asked for permission from Ozpin to return to the warehouse, but this time, we'll take Neo." Ruby gestured to Neo, who was standing behind her as she delivered her speech. Weiss and Blake looked at her warily before Ruby continued. "I understand you don't trust her right now, but please trust me and give her a chance."

"I think we can do that. If anyone knows anything about second chances... its gonna be us." Blake said on behalf of the group. Weiss nodded her agreement.

"Also, Ozpin mandated that Professor Port joins us, so if he's not busy tomorrow night, we can leave then," Ruby added.

"I've got one question, and it's for Neo," Yang interjected.

"And what's that?" Ruby asked.

"What was Cinder's plan?"

"That's actually a good question... Neo?" Ruby added as Neo pulled her scroll out and began typing.

"Cinder wanted a breed of people who had special powers. She wanted an army, whether to take over Vale or something else, I'm not sure. You were one of the first people she took, Ruby. Only because of your last name. You were also one of the only people to survive the early injections. Since then, she learned that other than yourself, almost no one else's body could handle that much dust. Since then, Cinder has had much more success injecting only a single type of dust into someone. That's what she was doing at the warehouse."

"Woah..." Ruby gasped.

"But we didn't see anything at the warehouse. We searched everywhere and found nothing." Weiss interjected.

"You didn't find the elevator, did you?" Neo wrote.

"There was no elevator... was there?" Blake wondered

"It was in the room you found me."

"Which explains why we didn't notice it," Yang added.

"It's hidden, you wouldn't have seen it regardless."

"Does Ozpin know?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, that's why he agreed to this. He wants proof."

"What are we going to find there?" Ruby questioned.

"Dust, medical equipment, it depends on if they came back for anything."

"Alrighty," Yang said.

"So are we good to leave tomorrow night? I'll ask Port if he's good to go in that case."

"Yeah, it should be empty anyway, right?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I don't see why they'd come back and neither did Ozpin." Neo wrote.

The next night, the team RWBY were doing their last minute weapon checks as they prepared to leave their dorm. No one was particularly worried, given that they expected the warehouse to be empty when they arrived. After checking ammo and dust for the last time, they filed out of the dorm and headed towards their airship. Already standing there was Professor Port, who was waiting by the door of the airship, and Neo, who was already in position on the airship.

"Ladies, are we ready for an adventure?" Port asked as they got within earshot.

"Yes, professor. Are we ready to leave?" Ruby asked.

"We will be leaving very shortly, we're just waiting on the captain. In the meantime, I assume you are aware of the objective of this mission?"

"Get some evidence of this 'dust injection'?" Ruby asked.

"Correct. Go take your seats, we'll be in the air in a few minutes." The girls made their way on board the ship, which had no seats, and instead had handles around the small interior to hang on to.

"Hey, Neo!" Ruby called out. She got a smile in return. The airship took off shortly after that and the girls made themselves comfortable. The ten minute flight went past rather quickly, and just before they landed Port addressed the girls.

"Ladies! Before we land, we can't assume that there's no one home. Keep your wits about you, ensure your guard is up, and once we're inside, Neo is to lead us to this basement area. Understood?" Port paused and got a series of nods. They landed a few seconds later, with Port standing by the door as the girls filed out. With a small amount of caution, they headed towards the gaping hole in the warehouse, courtesy of Ruby.

The warehouse was vastly different to the last time Ruby had been here. All crates of dust and weapons had been seized by Beacon, and if not for the blood splatters on the floor, no one would be able to tell that there had been a fight here. Neo led them up the stairs, and back into the room they'd found her.

Neo winced as she entered the room. The table she'd been found on had a Neo-sized dent in the middle, which contained a small pool of blood. She almost jumped as Ruby touched her on the shoulder.

"Hey, you're fine." She said soothingly. Neo nodded and climbed onto the table, reached up to the light, and pulled on an almost invisible string. There was a mechanical screeching sound as the wall at the back of the room parted, revealing the elevator Neo had spoken about.

"Well, let's head down," Port ordered. The elevator was extremely spacious, easily fitting the five of them. Ruby pulled out a camera as the elevator descended.

"Well, here we go..." Weiss said uncertainly. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Inside, the room was square in shape, and in the was about ten medical beds, which all were accompanied by IV drips. Ruby stepped out and looked around. There were blood stains on some of the beds, as well as small crates of dust next to each bed. Ruby took the lids off the crates, noting that roughly half were still full.

"Umm, guys..." Blake called out. She was standing in front of a small dumpster which was been covered by a white sheet. Ruby noticed Neo grimace before Blake threw the sheet off.

"Oh my god..." She said softly. Ruby ran up and peered inside. There were two bodies inside, but each was horribly mutated. There were abnormal, large bumps covering their skin. Their eyes were missing, hair had fallen out and there was a deep depression in their chest, where their lungs should have been.

"That's what happens when your body rejects the dust..." Neo had typed onto her scroll. The girls stared in silence.

"Ruby, take some photos. Ozpin will want to see this." Port directed. They didn't spend much longer there, just long enough for Ruby to photograph everything Professor Port deemed 'of interest.' Five minutes later, they were on the elevator.

"Hold up," Ruby said in a quiet voice, as she tentatively sniffed the air. Her ears waggled as she moved forward a pace.

"Someone is out there." She whispered.

"I'll take point. Stay behind me." Port ordered as they made their way down the stairs. They walked into the main room with the guards up, when a flash of fire flew through the air, just missing Professor Port. He turned on his heel and pointed his gun towards where the fire came from.

"Show yourself now!" He commanded. A few seconds later, a person dropped from the rafters of the warehouse, landing acrobatically on his feet. He was dressed in a white outfit, with a streak of black running across the chest.

"I just want Neo. The rest of you can leave." He called out.

"I don't think so, son. Now you better leave before I'm forced to take action." Port returned.

"I was hoping it'd work out like this. Alex?" He shouted out, as a female dressed the same way walked into the warehouse. She grinned maniacally as she threw her arm backwards.

"Team, split!" Port yelled as a giant, deadly icicle formed in her hand. She hurled it towards the girls, who dodged out the way. Neo dashed towards Alex, who already had another icicle ready to throw. Yang and Blake dashed after her, as Ruby shot at the guy. He jumped out of the way and ran towards Port, who had readied his stance and prepared his axe. Weiss ran to support the Professor, and just before the guy struck, Weiss summoned a glyph just in front of Port and raised a wall of ice. The guy smiled as he lobbed a fireball over the wall. Port batted it away with his axe as Weiss dashed in, meticulously planning her strikes as she placed a variety of glyphs on the ground. Their assailant stepped on one, which caused the glyph to glow and encase his foot in a block of ice. He superheated his foot as he pulled out a plain looking sword and deflected Weiss' strikes. Port hurled his axe as Ruby dashed in to attack.

On the other side of the warehouse, Yang and Blake were working in perfect unison as they attempted to take Alex down. Alex however, had erected a shield of ice which hovered in front of her, which blocked almost all of Yang's strikes. Blake activated her semblance and blinked behind Alex, who was all too prepared for it. A sword of ice swung through the air towards Blake's unprotected side. All of a sudden, Neo appeared and intercepted the block with her umbrella, before rolling towards Alex. She sprung up into the air, dodging her sword as she unsheathed the sword in her umbrella and swung at her chest. Alex's shield of ice swung around and slammed into Neo, stopping her attack and sending her into the wall of the warehouse. Yang stepped in and threw her best haymaker at Alex as she focussed on Blake. She watched in horror as Alex leapt to the side, leaving behind a solid, ice version of herself. Too late to stop, Yang's fist smashed into the ice, barely leaving a dent. If it weren't for her aura, her hand would've been broken. She turned to face Alex, but only saw a ball of ice as it collided with her face. Her aura broke as she slid towards the wall, but that only meant her semblance was at it's fullest power. Blake dodged Alex's sword, then blinked away as Yang stormed back into the fire, raining fists down onto Alex. To her credit, she didn't give up. She dodged, weaved, rolled and blocked every single one of Yang's punches. She couldn't be touched. With a smile, she dodged one final hook, before leaping into the air, spinning then slamming her heel into Yang's temple. She stood there for a second, blinked, then crumpled to the ground.

"YANG!" Blake shouted as she shot at Alex. Again, her shield rose in time to block them. She kept firing until her clip was almost empty, then immediately blinked behind Alex, and fired the last few shots. Anticipating the move, Alex jumped above Blake's head. Blake watched her flip but didn't see her sword swing through the air. Luckily, the only the hilt made contact with her, but it broke her aura nevertheless. Satisfied with her work, Alex turned to see how her counterpart was doing.

As it turns out, he was faring a little worse than she. Weiss may have been down for the count, but Port and Ruby were proving a little too strong. He was currently locked in an intense duel with Ruby, as he desperately dodged and blocked her giant scythe. Unbeknownst to him, Port had flanked him, leaving him stuck in the middle.

"JACK NOW!" Alex shouted. Without hesitation, Jack slammed his hand into the ground, erecting a wall of fire around him.

"I'll be back for you," Alex told Neo as she dashed off towards Ruby. As soon she Alex turned her back, Neo, or more correctly, her illusion shattered. Crouched in the rafters, Neo watched Alex run across to Ruby, who still had her attention focussed on Jack. Once she got closer, Alex created another deadly icicle, and took aim at Ruby who was now firing into the fire Jack had created. Just before she threw it, Neo covered herself in fire and sped towards the ground. She used her hands to control her descent, and just before the icicle hit Ruby, Neo smashed into it, evaporating it almost immediately. She landed on all fours, then stood up to face Alex. Ruby looked at her in wonder, before turning to face Jack now that his fired had died down.

Ruby and Neo charged at their respective opponents at the same time. Jack tried to throw more fireballs at Ruby, but she simply blasted water at anything that came her way. Jack flipped backwards to avoid Ruby's swing as it came for his legs, but before he touched the ground again, Ruby pushed her palm towards him. Her eyes turned green as a powerful wind slammed Jack into the wall, and Port followed up by shooting at him. Port approached him and figuring he had Jack covered, went to help Neo.

But there was no need. Neo was using a combination of her fire to melt away anything Alex created, and her acrobatic ability to cut away at Alex from any position. Ruby compacted her scythe back into its sniper form and took aim at Alex. However, Alex spotted her and repositioned herself so that Neo was in between them. She then starting attacking Neo with hand to hand combat. She almost started to dominate Neo, until Neo activated her semblance again. Alex struck 'Neo' with her foot, put immediately stumbled as she glass shattered as she made contact. Neo had teleported behind Alex and slammed the butt of her blade into Alex's ribs, then spun and used the butt again to smash into her temple, causing her to black out. Neo put her hands on her knees and exhaled loudly. Ruby looked over at Port who had Jack in handcuffs. Ruby dashed to each of her injured teammates, thankfully summing up that no one was too seriously injured.

"Good fighting girls. Take this one to the airship, and I'll take care of the rest." Port commanded. Ruby nodded as Neo jabbed Jack in the back. He cursed at her before following Ruby to the airship. Port brought the other members of team RWBY back one at a time, before returning with Alex and handcuffing her to a handle on the airship. He called Ozpin as they took off and requested that a squad of stretchers be available to help unload the injured. The rest of the flight was completed in relative silence as Ruby felt a wave of fatigue crash upon her.

When they landed, she helped the medics get everyone, including Alex, onto a stretcher. She vaguely heard Port ask her to meet him and Ozpin at some point tomorrow, but other than that she made her way back to her room with Neo in tow.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ruby finally made it back to her dorm, still with Neo in pursuit.

"I have questions for you, but I am just way too tired to ask right now. You can sleep in one of their beds, they won't be back until tomorrow at the earliest," Ruby mumbled as she shut the door behind Neo. Without bothering to change clothes, Ruby leapt straight into her bed.

"Goodnight Neo," Ruby called out softly, falling asleep almost straight after.


End file.
